Subaru Outback Engine Problems
- 329
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
- 19
- Years with records
- 2000–2019
- Stored years
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 329 stored complaint records:
- 6 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 9 indicate fire
Complaints by year
What appears in the records
- head gasket · 11 records
- coming stop · 11 records
- check engine · 10 records
- extended warranty · 9 records
- needed replaced · 7 records
- engine light · 7 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 88 |
| 1–30k mi | 80 |
| 60–100k mi | 74 |
| 30–60k mi | 40 |
| 150–400k mi | 20 |
Complaint evidence
Latest stored owner-submitted records. Open a year for the full list.
Electrical System · Engine
2009 subaru outback stalling while driving. The engine turned off while driving with light acceleration at low speeds (5-20 mph) without warning. Warning lights flickered on and off. I was able to restart the car. This is a huge safety issue to have the car stall out without warning. Subara south blvd dealership say they do not know the root cause. Prior to the above incidence the car, while driving at low speeds,…
ODI 11300598
Engine · Unknown Or Other
About 4 weeks ago, on late saturday morning, driving down the interstate, from richmond, va my car caught on fire in hampton. The car jolted a little and would not accelerate. Pulled to the side of the road, smoke became visible, but the temperature gauge was not running high. A witness ran toward the car yelling to get out of the car because it was on fire. Even though 2 fire trucks were on the scene, it took a…
Fire reported
ODI 11308055
Engine
I need to put a quart of oil every 250 miles. I did an oil check with grayson subaru knoxville tn, and they told me that the car was fine.
ODI 11296821
Engine
My transmission on my 2014 subaru outback blew on me in december 2019. I was in motion turning off the highway to an intersection
ODI 11308821
Engine
Since the car has been brand new, a half gallon of coolant has needed to be added to the car on a monthly basis. No leaks have been detected. There has always been a very strong odor of burning coolant. Dealer states this is normal for the 2.5l engine, so there is nothing to repair, just keep an eye on the coolant level. I filed a complaint with subaru of north america, and received a similar response. Both the…
ODI 11287567
Engine · Power Train
My vehicle accumulates a lot of highway miles. These are easy and unstrenuous to and from work. Over the past 3 months i had my vehicle misdiagnosed three times when i was complaining of transmission problems. As i have just broken 125,000 miles my vehicle gets diagnosed with needing a new head gasket and a new transmission. Costing easily more than the vehicle is worth. Subaru it not willing to back their vehicles.…
ODI 11287225
Engine
The car looses power to the point where it occasionally stalls when i decelerate and come to a stop or just before the stop. I replaced the battery as it was on its way out anyway and the problem persists. I don't think it has anything to do with the alternator and i haven't brought the car to a dealer or mechanic yet. But want to raise the flag on the issue i'm having because i've seen lots of forums where other…
ODI 11280242
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
An accelerator that became unresponsive while driving 65mph on 3 lane highway. This problem is prevalent with subaru and you can read about many people who have the problem which is an extreme safety issue. If you go online and search for subaru outback code p2138/throttle position sensor you will find that the sensor has intermitent failures which cause the accelerator to become unresponsive. Even when people get…
ODI 11299992